Portable stand



y 2, 1959 v R. E. PETRXCK 2,886,274

' PORTABLE STAND Fil ed Dec. 28 1953 /1? 5 RUZW: AZ 4 WaaeZZZE7/7&OZ

United States Patent 2,886,274 PORTABLE STAND' Russell E. Petrick, ParkRidge, 111., assignor to Knox Manufacturing Company, a corporation ofIllinois Application December 28, 1953, Serial No. 400,598

Claims. (Cl. 248-171) A further object is to provlde an lmproved meansfor placing the stand legs in proper position for use.

Still a further object is to provide a portable stand which will openfrom folded position under the force of gravity without the use ofspring-urged leg members.

The invention is illustrated in the preferred embodiment in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the stand in outwardly spread position;

Fig. 2, an elevational view of 'the stand with the leg members in foldedposition;

Fig. 3, a fragmentary sectional View taken in a plane determined by thecentral standard and one of the leg members and showing a leg member infolded position-in dotted outline;

Fig. 4, a fragmentary sectional view taken as indicated on line 44 ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5, a fragmentary sectional view taken as indicated on line 55 ofFig. 3; and

Fig. 6, a sectional view taken as indicated on line 6-6 ofFig. 3. I

In the embodiment illustrated, the leg unit comprises threeleg members 7which \are pivotally secured by rivets 8 to an upper collar 9 mountedfor slidable movement longitudinally of a central upright standard 10.The leg members 7 are generally channel-shaped and arranged so that eachof the channels opens inwardly toward the standard. The central standardis preferably metallic.

and tubular so that an extensible rod, not shown, may be slidablyreceived therein. Rubber or plastic tips 11 may be placed on the freeends of the leg members 7 to prov tect the floor from the sharp metaledges of the ends of the leg members.

Channel-shaped bracing links 12 join the middle portions of thelegmembers 7 to a lower collar 13 which is slidably mounted for limitedmovement upon the standard-10. The longitudinal movement of the lowercollar is limited by the rivet 14 sliding in a longitudinal slot 15 inthe upright standard, the slot being shown in dotted outline in Fig. 3.The rivet 14 also impales a pair of ears 16 of the bracket 17 whichprovides a smooth bear- 22 is preferably secured to the standard 10 bythe sheet metal screws 23, as shown, or by a spot -weld. Each of thehook members has a notch 24 preferably opening downwardly of thestandard 10 for engaging a cooperating latching portion on the leg unit.A handle 25 on the upper collar 9 facilitates its longitudinal movement.As the upper collar is raised, the leg members are pivoted toward foldedposition parallelto the standard 10, and the bracing links in turn arepivoted about the lower collar 13 and recessed within the channels ofthe leg members. The leg members are locked in folded position by theengagement of the hook members 22 with a latching or notch-engagingportion on the leg unit which is herein shown as the top edges 26 of thewebs 27 in the channelshaped links 12. As the legs are being folded, theedges 26 contact the surfaces 28 on the stationary member 21 which camthe leg unit downwardly against the action of the coil spring 19. Whenthe leg unit reaches folded position adjacent the standard 10, the edges26 snap into the notches 24 in the hook members and lock the leg membersin place.

To put the stand in use in its outwardly spread position, a pair ofcarnming surfaces are provided to pivot the leg members 7 away from thestandard 10. A first camming surface 30 is formed on each hook member 22and is inclined downwardly and outwardly of the standard. The secondsurface is in fact a camming pin 29 secured within the channel of eachleg member ,so that it lies slightly above the surface 30 when the legmem bers are in folded position. The leg unit is unlocked by applying aslight downward pressure upon thehandle member 25 to compress the spring19 and remove the edges 26 of the links 12 from the notches 24 in thehook members 12. Just as theedge 26 clears the notch 24, the pins 29ride downwardly and outwardly on the surfaces 30 to urge the leg memberstoward spread position.

The leg unit is preferably frictionally balanced to enable.

the top collar to continue downwardly, slowly under the force of gravityuntil it comes to rest on the stationary member 21, at which time theleg members are in spread position. Since the leg unit opens gradually,any-person putting the stand in use can easily avoid being struck by theopening leg members, thus preventing snags .in his clothes or stockings.

It is contemplated that the present invention not be limited to theprecise embodiment shown and described; Thus obvious modifications, suchas reversingthe positions of the hook members and the notch-engaging portions, or inverting the hook members on the standardand reversing theaction of the coil spring, do not depart from the spirit of thisinvention.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness ofunderstanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, for some modifications will be obvious to those skilled inthe art.

I claim:

l. A portable stand, comprising: an upright standard; a leg unit havinga plurality of leg members hinged for movement from an outwardly spreadposition to a folded position against the standard, said entire leg unitbeing mounted for limited longitudinal slidable movement on thestandard; a stationary portion on the standard adjacent said leg unitand a latching portion on the leg unit positioned for cooperativelocking engagement with said stationary portion when said leg membersare moved to folded position, one of .said portions being a hook memberadapted to engage the other of said portions; and spring means yieldablyurging said entire leg unit longitudinally of the standard to maintainsaid hook member and the other of said portions in locking engagementwhen the legs are in folded position.

2. A portable stand as specified in claim 1, having Patented May 12,1959- means for urging the legs from folded position toward spreadposition, said means including a pair of cooperating cam portions, oneof said portions mounted on the standard and the other of said portionsmounted on the leg unit, said cam portions being adapted to slidablycontact each other to urge said leg members toward out wardly spreadposition when said leg unit is moved against the action of the springmeans to unlock the hook member and the other of said portions.

3. A portable stand, comprising: an upright standard; a leg unit havinga plurality of substantially straight leg members hinged for movementfrom an outwardly extending spread position to a folded positionsubstantially parallel to the standard, said entire leg unit beingmounted for limited longitudinal slidable movement on the standard; afixed hook member on said standard adjacent said leg unit and having anotch positioned to engage a portion of the leg unit when the legmembers are swung into said folded position; and spring means yieldablyurging said leg unit longitudinally of the standard to maintain saidportion of the leg unit in locking engagement with said notch when thelegs are in folded position.

4. A portable stand as specified in claim 3, having means for urging thelegs from folded position toward spread position, said means including apair of cooperating cam portions, one of said portions mounted on thestandard and the other of said portions mounted on the leg unit, saidcam portions being adapted to slidably contact each other to urge saidleg members toward outwardly spread position when said portion of theleg unit is forced out of the notch in the hook member against theaction of the spring means.

5. A collapsible stand, comprising: an upright standard; a fixed hookmember secured to said standard; a leg unit having a plurality ofsubstantially straight leg members hinged for movement from an outwardlyextending spread position to a folded position substantially parallel tothe standard, and bracing links joining the middle portion of each ofsaid leg members to said standard and being foldable against saidstandard when said leg members are in folded position, one of said linkslower collar to yieldingly maintain said collar in its uppermostposition longitudinally of the standard; three fixed hook members havinga downwardly open notch secured to said standard, each of said membershaving an upper cam surface inclined downwardly and outwardly from saidstandard; channel-shaped bracinglinks connecting said lower collar toeach of said legs, said links being movable with the leg members intofolded position parallel to the standard so that an edge of the upperend of each said channel-shaped links will snap into the notch in eachof said hook members under the upward force of said coil spring to locksaid leg members in folded position; and a stud secured to each of theleg members and adapted to slidably contact each of the upper camsurfaces on the hook members when the leg members are in foldedposition, whereby downward movement of the lower collar against theaction of the coil spring disengages each of said edges from saidnotches in the hook members and brings said studs and said upper camsurfaces into sliding contact to urge said leg members toward outwardlyspread position.

8. A portable stand, comprising: an upright standard; a stationarylatching portion on the standard; a leg unit having a plurality of legmembers hinged for movement from an outwardly extending spread positionto a folded position adjacent the standard, said entire leg unit beingmounted for limited longitudinal slidable movement on the standard andbeing provided with a bracing link pivoted at one end to a leg memberand at the other end to the standard, said bracing link being foldableagainst said standard when the leg members are in folded position sothat a portion of said one end will engage the stationary latchingportion to lock the leg unit in folded position; and spring meansyieldably urging said leg unit longitudinally of the standard tomaintain said one end in locking engagement with the stationary latchingportion.

9. A portable stand as specified in claim 8, in which a channel-shapedbracing link is pivoted at one end to each of the leg members and at theother end to the standard, and a channel-shaped edge at said one endhaving-a hook-engaging portion positioned for cooperating lockingengagement with said fixed hook member when said leg members are infolded position to lock said leg members and said links in foldedposition, said entire leg unit being mounted for limited longitudinalslidable movement on the standard; and spring means yieldably urgingsaid leg unit longitudinally of the standard to maintain saidhook-engaging portion in cooperative locking engagement with said fixedhook member.

6. A collapsible stand as specified in claim 5, in which a first camportion on the leg unit is adapted to slidably contact a second camportion on the fixed hook member when the leg members are in foldedposition, said second cam portion being inclined downwardly andoutwardly of the standard, whereby downward movement ofthe leg unitagainst the action of the spring means disengages the notch-engagingportion from the notch in the hook member and brings said first andsecond cam portions into sliding contact to pivot said leg memberstoward outwardly spread position.

7. A portable stand, comprising: an upright tubular standard; a cap onthe lower end of saidstandard; an upper collar slidable on the standard;th-ree substantially straight leg members hinged to said upper collarfor movement from an outwardly extending spread position to a foldedposition substantially parallel to the standard; a lower collar mountedon the standard for limited sliding movement longitudinally of thestandard; a coil spring in the lower end of said standard eng g g aPorti0n of said of one of the bracing links will engage the stationarylatching portion to lock the leg unit in folded position.

10. A portable stand, comprising: an upright standard; a stationarylatching portion secured to the standard; an upper and lower collarslidable on the standard, one of the collars being mounted for limitedlongitudinal sliding movement; spring means normally urging said onecollar toward said stationary latching portion; a leg unit having aplurality of leg members hinged to said upper collar for movement froman outwardly spread position to a folded position against the standard,said leg unit including a bracing link joining the middle portion ofeach leg member to the lower collar; and a cooperating latching portionon the leg unit positioned to engage said stationary latching portionwhen the leg members are swung .to folded position, said spring meanspermitting yielding movement of the entire leg unit to effect thelatching engagement and retain the leg members in folded position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS726,455 Pepper Apr. 28, 1903 1,258,518 Ankovitz Mar. 5, 1918 1,554,538Walberg Sept. 22, 1925 2,549,584 Eller Apr. 17, 1951 2,598,753 BolseyJune 3, 1952 2,659,559 Du Mais Nov. 17, 1953 2,750,141 Tobias June 12,1956

